Downing, Andrew Jackson

Downing, Andrew Jackson,

1815–52, American horticulturist, rural architect, and landscape gardener, b. Newburgh, N.Y. With his brother Charles Downing, 1802–85, he took over the operation of the nursery that his father had established at Newburgh, and c.1838, Andrew became sole owner. His Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America (1841) rapidly became a classic and passed through 10 editions (10th ed. 1921). His Cottage Residences (1842) was an attempt to point the way to improvement in the homes of country people. With Charles, Downing published, both in England and the United States, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1845), a valuable work that passed through 13 editions in the author's lifetime. From 1846 until his early death he edited the Horticulturist; his editorials were in part published as Rural Essays (1853). In 1850 he published his Architecture for Country Houses and visited England. With Calvert VauxVaux, Calvert
, 1824–95, American landscape architect, b. London. He emigrated (1850) to the United States, and assisted A. J. Downing with the U.S. Capitol grounds and a number of Hudson River estates.
..... Click the link for more information. , who had accompanied Downing on his return, he designed and constructed the homes and gardens of a great number of country estates along the Hudson River. He also planned the grounds for the Capitol, the White House, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Downing, Andrew Jackson

(1815–1852)Served as consultant with Andrew J. Davies but did not practice on his own until 1850, when with Calvert Vaux designed the Daniel Parrish House in Newport, RI. He also planned an informal design for the Mall in Washington, DC, later replaced with the present one but still considered as one of the originators of the informal approach to landscape design.

Downing, Andrew Jackson

(1815–52) landscape gardener, horticulturist; born in Newburgh, N.Y. He learned horticulture in his family's nursery and would later write the standard text, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1845). Before that, his views on designing both landscape and buildings—conveyed in A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening (1841) and in Cottage Residences (1842)—had become widely influential. He was editor of The Horticulturist (1846–52) which further promoted his views of improving properties. He himself was somewhat influenced by then current English ideas and he brought Calvert Vaux from England in 1850; together they designed various projects until Downing's untimely death in a steamboat disaster.